There is no giving thanks in comics.

I thought finding some mention of Thanksgiving in comics would be easy and would make for a good blog post for the long holiday weekend. Then I started to dig through my boxes, looking for something that I could write about, and I realized that this search would be harder than I thought. Oh, I assure you I will have plenty to write about when Christmas comes around. The "Big Two" put out X-Mas books every year and every year those issues inevitably find their way into the quarter bin by January. When it comes to Thanksgiving though, there is very little comic book representation. Google couldn't even help me find something. It has to be pretty bad if Google can't find anything. Therefore, I have decided to give you all a special treat. I present to you Godzilla Vs. Barkley.

If you were to list the greatest battles in comics, you may say Batman versus Superman or Spider-Man versus the Green Goblin. I have seen the light though, and now I know that those answers are flat out wrong. There will never be a more epic, mind blowing confrontation than that of the battle that was waged between the king of the monsters, Godzilla, and the king of the hardwood, Charles Barkley. The obvious response to this is "but Charles Barkley is a mere mortal...how could he stop Godzilla?" That is where the magical silver dollar comes in. I concede that a regular-sized Charles Barkley might have some difficulty defeating Godzilla, but when armed with the magical silver dollar given to him by his "biggest fan," I know I would sleep soundly knowing that Godzilla had met its match.

I can already hear your next question. "So the silver dollar makes Sir Charles huge, but then what? Godzilla still has his fire breath and is almost impervious to any attack. What could Barkley do?" You're going to hit yourself when you see how obvious the answer is. You challenge Godzilla to a basketball game on an abandoned Air Force base of course! (And for some reason Bill Cosby, Jack Nicholson, Jimmy Carter, and Rush Limbaugh are there too to watch the game.) In the end, Barkley beats the 20,000 ton lizard and leaves it in a canyon to practice its layups. So if you are ever driving near a canyon near the California coast and you hear a giant monster shooting hoops, steer clear. It is probably still a little steamed that it lost to Charles.

In all seriousness though, this is the kinda comic book that I am always looking for when I dig through a quarter box. Obviously part of the Nike ad campaign of the early 90's, this book must have netted Dark Horse Comics some big bucks. That is the only explanation I could make for how something like this could ever make it to print. Godzilla Vs. Barkley should never have been made, but it was and therefore I must read it. Yes it is a complete case of fascination of the abomination, but I can't help it.

Green Lantern/Green Arrow #6

There is a strong misconception that quarter bins and dollar boxes are only filled with the junk books that no one would buy. If you are one of the misinformed masses that holds onto this belief, I have come to enlighten you. Some of the greatest comics ever written are laying in the cheap boxes right now and you just haven't realized why. They're reprints! From the Dark Phoenix Saga to Crisis on Infinite Earths, comics' greatest sagas can be found in the quarter and dollar boxes because they have been reprinted, collected, and sold in newer versions countless times. I want to look at a specific reprint that I grabbed out of a fifty cent box a while ago: Green Lantern/Green Arrow #6.

As soon as I saw this issue, I knew it was a must buy for a couple reasons. First, even though I have never read anything from this era of the old Green Lantern series, I have heard over and over how culturally relevant the series was and how they dealt with drug addiction, racism, and other problems in society way before any other comics would touch those subjects. These are milestone issues that are definitely worth reading just for the fact that they mark a shift in the history of comics. Second, I have come to enjoy the characters in the current iterations. Hal Jordan's adventures in the current Green Lantern series has become required reading for any DC fan due to the massive "Sinestro Corps War" event and the coming "Blackest Night." I also have developed a soft spot for Ollie Queen and the rest of the Green Arrow family. When I was younger, I hated Green Arrow. In my blatant Marvelite attitude, I wrote Green Arrow off as a blatant copy of Hawkeye and disregarded him as I did with the rest of DC comics. Now after being reintroduced to the character by the animated Justice League Unlimited and reading Green Arrow/Black Canary every month (due to the great Mike Norton on art duty), I now consider myself a Green Arrow fan.

After reading the book (which reprints Green Lantern #86-87 just so you know), the only thing that kept running through my mind is that I kept wondering what a kid in 1971 would have thought when they bought this at the store and brought it home. Like I said before, these issues deal with some heady material that may not be very accessible for every reader. Today, major titles are targeted to mature readers who can understand involved plots and big ideas, but in 1971, the issues that these issues brings up were not commonplace. For example, this issue includes the first appearance of John Stewart, the African American architect chosen to be the new Green Lantern of Earth. As soon as Stewart is presented, his views on racism are brought to the forefront as he fights with a racist cop. Today, the character has mellowed out, but in his first appearances, John Stewart was blatantly militant in his views on society. With that said, I doubt kids reading this when it originally hit store shelves would have connected with Stewart at all. His stark view of 1970's America, while very true, is not what kids are really ready to hear. As an adult reading this, I can see why writing about these topics is so important, yet so difficult since you don't want to alienate readers.

As I read, I also wondered how a young reader would respond to Green Arrow. To put it bluntly, Oliver Queen is an asshole. Speedy, his sidekick and adopted son, is an addict looking for help, so what does Ollie do? He gives Speedy a beatdown. Yes, you read that right. The very first splash page shows Ollie backhanding Speedy, knocking him to the floor, for being "a lousy junkie." In the end, it is Black Canary and Green Lantern, not Green Arrow (the only father figure Speedy has ever had), who help Speedy through his recovery. Green Arrow does not even apologize. Yes, he finds the people responsible for trafficking drugs into the city, but you never see any reconciliation between him and Speedy. What does that say to a little kid? I think (and hope) kids know that if someone is asking for help, you don't knock them out. Plus, what would the super liberal Green Arrow of today say to that. That really shows how the character has evolved through the years.

Morlocks #1-4

The X-Men have always had a soft spot in my heart. If it weren't for the X-books, I probably wouldn't be the comic reader that I am today. In fact, Uncanny X-Men #273 was the first comic book I remember reading when I was 8 years old. From that point on, I was obsessed with the X-Men and the rest of the Marvel characters as well. Even when I stopped reading comics for some time, it was Astonishing X-Men #1 that pulled me back in. (Talk to any comic reader, and more often than not, they will have a similar diaspora story for you.)

Today, the X-books are a little different, but I am still reading and enjoying them. Much to my surprise though, there was a mutant-filled limited series that I had never heard of until I found one of the issues in a quarter box years ago. That series was Morlocks. I bought issue number two a long time ago and it had been sitting gathering dust for some time since I had the hardest time trying to find the rest of the series until recently. As soon as I had the series in its entirety, I pounced on the issues and read them all in about an hour. They were so good that I couldn't put them down until I found out how it ended.

Morlocks came out during the period I mentioned before when I left comics. Actually, I am pretty lucky that I even found out about it at all. Small miniseries like Morlocks usually get lost in the shuffle and are rarely heard from again. The best evidence of this is the fact that Morlocks was written by a big name in the comics world, yet, no one has heard of the series or remembers it. You might be surprised to know that the series was written by none other than Geoff Johns. Yes, that Geoff Johns, DC Comics golden boy and current writer of Green Lantern and Justice Society of America. In Morlocks, Johns creates a powerful story steeped in X-Men lore. For those who don't know, the Morlocks were introduced in X-Men books years ago as a group of mutants who couldn't pass for human so they fled and live together in the New York City sewers. In the series, we follow a new group of underground-dwelling mutants hiding from the mutant hunting Sentinels all while trying to complete a pact they have made to each other to fulfill one wish each member has. The characters have real heart. In the course of four issues, you get to know them and wish that you could continue with them on their journey. It is too bad that only one of the characters, Litterbug, has ever made another appearance.

I wouldn't be doing the book any justice if I didn't mention the art. Shawn Martinbrough's art is new to me and I love his art style. He reminds me of Michael Avon Oeming's art on Powers but with a little more detail. I have always been a fan of that type of minimalist style and I think that Martinbrough uses it perfectly in Morlocks.

I did have two small problems while I was reading Morlocks though. The series did border on two of my pet peeves. You would not believe how excited I was to see the first page of the first issue and read the word "Chicago" right there. Having your hometown as the setting is always a special treat. It sucks when there is nothing in the book that makes it specific to the city it is set in though. Aside from the first word of the book setting it in Chicago, there was nothing that made this city setting different than anywhere. Come on people! How many New York landmarks do I have to read about all the time? Can't Chicago get some real love for a change? Geez, even Milwaukee has the Great Lakes Avengers. The Windy City needs some real representation in comics. The other thing that irked me a bit was that the lettering was not proofread at all. there were multiple times where the word bubbles were coming from the wrong people. I know it is not a big deal, but one readthrough after the letterer is done could remedy that completely.

Stacked Deck: The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told

One of the greatest finds I have ever found in a bargain bin was a copy of Stacked Deck: The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told. As soon as I saw the purple faux leather cover, the gold leaf on the edges of the pages, and the signature Joker grin on the binding, I knew that this was a real find and that I had to have it. The best part about it was that it didn't break the bank at only $14 at my local Half Price Books. I showed it to Katie and even she agreed that it was too good to pass up and that it would look very nice on our bookshelf.

Now the really strange part about this acquisition was that I bought the book only a month before the release of The Dark Knight, arguably the biggest comic book inspired movie to date. How perfect is that? I am in the mood to read some Batman and Joker stories and there is a gorgeous collection of the best ones right there for me and at a dirt cheap price. Why would someone sell this to a used book store when they could have easily made a mint off of it on eBay? OK all you comic deal hunters out there. This is where I teach you a lesson. That question can NEVER enter your mind. The only thing you are supposed to think is "their loss, my gain." In the hunter/gatherer world of longboxes and quarter bins, you have to grab what you want or it will be gone before you have time to blink. Questioning why someone would want to get rid of something is a waste of time. Just be happy that you have the opportunity to read it and add it to your collection.

With my militaristic rant over (don't forget that I still have a lot of Battlestar Galactica in my system), I can get into the book itself. Like a said before, this is a gorgeous edition worthy of being in a library. Aside from a small scuff on the front cover image, the copy is in excellent shape. All of the reprints were reinked and recolored so even Batman #1 looks brand new. All together, there are twenty-two separate stories included in this volume from Batman, Detective Comics, World's Finest Comics, and the daily newspaper strips, and they run the gamut from 1940 to 1987. The only thing missing in the book is Alan Moore's Killing Joke, but the afterword explains that it was omitted since it was new at the time Stacked Deck was printed and needed to stand on its own two feet.

As I read through the many stories, two major ideas popped out at me that I think are worth discussing. First, the Joker's temperament and MO have changed drastically throughout the years. Mike Gold, a DC editor, also mentions this in his preface. The Joker starts out as a basic sociopath and murderer. Many of his first appearances don't even have the grand plans or jokes that we have come to expect. He just hides in someone's home and then kills and robs them. Yes, he still has his purple suit and white face, but the connections to a clown persona end there. Then as the character progresses, he becomes the thief with the grandiose plans that we have come to expect, but there is no bloodshed or massive death toll as there had been years earlier. Joker would try to steal the money from a charity collection or make an attempt to discredit Batman, but he would be caught with everyone safe and sound by the end. Now the modern Joker is a combination of the two using plots and pranks with deadly outcomes. I just find it interesting that today's Joker evolved as a combination of the original Joker and his murderous ways with the later Joker and his jokes and elaborate plans.

The other plot device that I kept noticing was the use of female characters. Honestly, I think I know now why comic books are only considered a "boy thing" these days. The seeds were planted in all of these classic issues. A handful of the stories in Stacked Deck involve a witless woman making a complete mess of something, be it Joker's plan to get rich or Batman's attempt to defeat him. There was one moment where I literally burst out laughing at the brainless female portrayal. In The Joker's Utility Belt from Batman #73, Batman and Robin are christening a ship in Gotham harbor. They had have already found that the Joker rigged the bottle of champagne with paralyzing gas and replaced it with a safe bottle. Right when they are about to strike the ship, a woman runs out of nowhere grabbing the rigged bottle and yells "I want to have fun too! HURRAH!" She breaks the bottle and releases the gas, paralyzing everyone and allowing Joker to rob them all and get away. This is just one of the many examples of how women were written to just be a nuisance to everyone, hero and villain alike.

After reading Stacked Deck, I found that there is a lot of Batman lore that I have missed out on and a lot of interesting stories that have been written throughout the evolution of both the Dark Knight and his nemesis, the Clown Prince of Crime. It looks as though there are a lot of other books that I need to look for next time I go digging in the longboxes.

Battlestar Galactica #0-8

What better to use for my first review than something that has been taking over my whole life as of late: Ron Moore's reimaging of Battlestar Galactica. In the last month, I have become completely obsessed with BSG. I've bought all of the DVD's and watched the first three seasons from start to finish. When it originally debuted, I was in school and missed the miniseries which led to me falling behind pretty fast. Since the continuing narrative is not very friendly to new viewers, I just never found the time to devote to it until recently. BSG is truly an amazing show in that the writers have created a world in which they have the ability to tell stories the viewer can relate to as well as comment on today's relevant issues while still operating in the mode of a massive science fiction epic.

Now I can see you reading this and asking yourself "this is supposedly a comic book blog, where are the comics?" Well, after starting to watch Battlestar Galactica, it came to my attention that Dynamite Entertainment was printing multiple comic series based on the show. Due to my new found love of the program, the hunt was on for these issues. Luckily for me, the search did not take long and in the myriad of longboxes at the Windy City Comicon, I found twelve of the thirteen issues of the core Battlestar Galactica book (only missing #11), the complete "Zarek" limited series, and a handful of issues of the "Origins" series. Honestly for a longbox diver like myself, I really wasn't expecting to find any of them when I left for the con due to the fact that most vendors just bring their old Marvel and DC books to sell at shows and leave the back issues of the smaller press titles at the store. Fate smiled on me though and I walked away with an armful of BSG goodness or so I thought....

I chose to delve into the core book first because I had a almost complete run of the series and I thought it would tie into the show's storyline more than the others. I was encouraged as I opened up the front cover of issue #0 to find the series explanation from the start of every show and a note that placed the story right in between two episodes of the show. Hooray! They really want this to work and even went as far as to place the story in a set time period within the series. Then I noticed the writer: Greg Pak. Yes, the Greg Pak from World War Hulk among many other Marvel books as of late. Apparently, BSG is the only non-Marvel comic work Pak has done. By this point, I am pretty excited to start reading a story firmly set in the BSG world written by an established comic writer.

As much as it pains me to say it though, my excitement faded pretty quickly. Licensed comics are a fickle mistress. It is very easy to fall into the traps that make for bad licensed comics. Sadly, Battlestar Galactica shows many of these fatal flaws. First of all (and probably the most obvious at first glance), the art is distractingly bad. If you cannot draw the people from the show, then a licensed comic might not be the best assignment for you. I definitely don't want to give the impression that artist Nigel Raynor shouldn't be drawing comics, but he chooses not to try very hard to make his representations of the characters look like their televised counterparts. Basically, all of the characters are reduced to stereotypes with matching hair color except for Sharon who is drawn as a Hispanic woman instead of an Asian one and President Roslin who is drawn much younger than her character in the show. Artists should bring their own flavor to a book, but they can't just disregard the other media that the license may come from.

As for the story, there is no silver lining there either. First of all, it was like Pak had the first fifty issues of the series thought up and then either he realized that the show's progression would prevent him from doing everything he wanted or Dynamite surprised him when they told him he only had twelve issues to do everything he wanted. I say this because within the issues #0 through 8, the crew of the Battlestar Galactica deal with pirates, terrorists, Cylons impersonating dead family members of the crew, old model pre-rebellion Cyclons, and a bunch of the current model Cylons (including both Centurions and another Sharon Valerii copy) all AT THE SAME TIME. The story is a constant mashup of plots and problems all crossing and intersecting. Nothing resolves itself. I fear even more for the people who read this in trade since the trades don't even end at logical points. I thought by reading to issue #8 (the end of the Volume 2 trade paperback) that something would be resolved but none of it was. It is just too much.

The feel of the book does not fit the show either which presents another common flaw of licensed comics. Comic fans are the most continuity-obsessed people ever, and when what they read does not fit into continuity, they will go berserk. It is just that simple. At the time that the book came out, everything in the story may have made sense. It may not have been good, but it would have made sense. Now that the show has continued, we know that a lot of the events and happenings in the book would never have happened in the show and yet again the reader is angry.

All I need to say is that Battlestar Galactica is a phenomenon that is considered by some to be the best show on TV currently. With that status and preexisting fanbase, it only made sense to make a BSG comic book. I really just wish they tried a litte harder. Hopefully, the Zarek and Origins series will be better.